Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Will and I got married earlier this summer, on June 24th. The wedding was at Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, at 6:00 p.m. and the reception was held at Haywood Hall. Overall things went smoothly, but the weather refused to cooperate. Right around the time we were at the altar, being pronounced husband and wife, the skies opened and rain began coming down in sheets. After the ceremony the guests waited around in the church lobby for the storm to pass, but once we figured out the rain wasn't letting up, one by one people spilled out into the evening, making a run for their cars. Will and I loaded up into a van with my bridesmaids under the main church lobby carport and took the quick drive over to the reception site.

By the time we parked at Haywood Hall, the rain had mostly let up. Will led me and one of my bridesmaids, Amanda, up the walkway to the front door, where my mom was waiting anxiously, drink in hand. She immediately informed me that the band's equipment had gotten ruined during the downpour and they were in the process of packing up and heading back home to Richmond. Apparently she had informed them that the wouldn't be receiving the rest of their deposit, and she set about arranging to have a DJ (apparently a cousin of the caterer) to bring his equipment and set up.

Throughout all of this, I remained as calm and collected as I could, given the circumstances. I had a scotch in hand (my reception was beer and wine only, but I managed to sneak a flask of scotch into my bag just in case of emergencies) and was working to collect myself upstairs with the rest of my bridesmaids before heading down to greet the guests.

Not half an hour later I heard the band begin to play. It's a funny thing, how that "ruined equipment" just sprung right to life the minute the band leader found out he wasn't going to get paid for a nonexistent performance. By that time the DJ had arrived, so my mom went ahead and paid him his hourly rate and asked him to stand by (just in case) and enjoy himself at the reception.

All things considered, things really did turn out just fine. Will and I felt so blessed to have so many of our loved ones in attendance to celebrate our marriage. Once the music got started and the booze was flowing, people were having a blast out on the dance floor, Will and myself being no exception. I've heard several people remark that they'd never seen a bride and groom be able to kick back and enjoy themselves and their guests so much during the reception. My take on the whole thing was that, since we only had one chance to live out this wonderful evening, I didn't want to be bogged down in too many posed portraits of the two of us or take half an hour to cut the cake -- I wanted to enjoy the moment and spend time with our friends and family!

Will had insisted on burying a bottle of bourbon thirty days prior to the ceremony, which is incredibly funny in hindsight, seeing as how the buried bourbon is an old tradition meant to keep bad weather on the wedding day at bay. Obviously it didn't work! But Will swears that the rain stopped the moment we dug up the bottle at the reception. I'm not quite sure I buy into his story, but at least it's a fun memory to have. We'll be taking shots of that bourbon alongside a slice of our (now frozen) wedding cake for our one-year anniversary. In fact, Will is already insisting we take a shot of the bourbon for our six months anniversary, which happens to be next week! I must say, I'm not opposed to the idea -- after all, the first six months is definitely something to celebrate!

So in celebration of the first half-year of marriage, and in an effort to give y'all a taste of my wedding day, here are some pictures from that day that I'll cherish for the rest of my life.

Well, here we are yet again. I've been debating in my head whether or not to bring this blog back to life, and after several months of radio silence on here and a great deal of consideration from me, I've decided to give this thing another go. Blogging has been ultimately a beneficial exercise for me in the past, and I love to go back and read through my daily through process from weeks, months and years ago. All in all, it's shown me how much I've changed as a person and it's made me appreciate the things I've been through.

For those of you who have been with me through the long haul, you'll probably find this blog to be a bit more sparse than it has been in the past. In an effort to "start new", I've gone through every one of my past blog posts and have deleted several entries that I wasn't completely happy with or those that no longer really have a place on this blog. We're starting anew here, folks. A new chapter, a new life, a new blog.

With all that being said, I'd like to catch everyone up on current events. As you can see from my most recent post this past February, Will and I were engaged when I left you last. We had a beautiful wedding in Raleigh on June 24th, 2017 (more pictures to come in a later post), I quit my job in Raleigh and moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where I'm now working as a contracts analyst for the local healthcare system. Leaving everything behind and moving to a small town where I know very few people has obviously been an adjustment for me, and it's still a bit of a learning process. Every day I'm meeting new people, discovering new shops and restaurants, and am learning the ropes bit by bit.

Married life itself has been rewarding and challenging at the same time. I'm trying to be a better, more consistent cook, but that has proven to be a bit difficult, because my husband is the ultimate picky eater. Picking up after two people (and two destructive dogs) isn't the easiest thing, but Will and I have hired a cleaning company to come once a month to do more of a deep-clean of the house. Without that, I would be in a real mess. God bless my cleaning ladies. Luckily, Will is particular about his laundry, so he tends to do it himself. Which is more than fine by me! The house is in pretty good shape (sans the HVAC unit, which cut off several times this past summer during some of the hottest days of the year and had to be repaired by one of Will's groomsmen) and has ended up being the perfect size for the two of us.

We've established a pretty solid daily routine, and the dogs are happy as little clams in their new house. They've got a big fenced-in backyard to run around and chase squirrels away from. We try to walk them after dinner most nights, which is basically the extent of my exercise program. Will, on the other hand, is an avid golfer, so he spends a lot of time carrying his clubs around the course and burning hundreds of calories in the process. As for me, I'll be joining a gym in January.. (not).

Anyhow, that's all I have for now. I'm going to try to be better about being more consistent with my posts and keeping track of my day-to-day events. Stay posted!

About Me

Hey y'all, thanks for stopping
by The Clarity Chase!
My husband and I live in a small town
in North Carolina with our two rescue mutts
and a baby on the way!
During the week I'm a contracts analyst for
the local health system, and on my time off I'm
a dedicated yogi, low-carb cook, avid reader,
part-time traveler and novice photographer.
I've been working on this blog in one capacity
or another since 2013, and it's always been a
wonderful way for me to connect with others!
I'm always open to comments, questions and
suggestions, so please don't be shy!
Feel free to tag along!